Fruit Salad- An Easy and Healthy Recipe 2021

Fruit Salad

Really? A recipe for fruit salad? Yes, it would be best to have it because this simple dressing takes strawberries, raspberries, and mangoes to a whole new level. Sweet syrupy honey, fresh tart orange juice, and bright lemon zest come together to elevate your fruit (even if they’re out of season) to new heights.

We like to be the cool parent here at Delish and never want to say no…but in this case, you can’t use frozen fruit! Because fruits are mostly water, their cell structures change when frozen: when water turns to ice, it expands as its cells rearrange into a tight crystalline formation.

When you bring frozen fruit to room temperature, you may notice that a lot of the fruit looks very deflated and mushy—and that’s because that crystalline arrangement during freezing punctured through the cell walls of the fruit, causing their collapse once defrosted. So unless you like mushy fruit salad that borders on fruit soup…

Can I prepare the salad ahead of time?

You can, but hold off on dressing it until right before serving and keep your prepared and cut fruits well covered and refrigerated until it’s time to act. We recommend prepping the fruit within 4 hours of doing—any longer, and you’ll start to see fading and oxidation on the cut fruit. If you want to prevent your chopped apples from browning too much, toss them with a tablespoon of lemon juice and put them on the bottom of the fruit bowl to reduce their contact with air.

If you made this recipe, we’d love to hear from you! Leave us a comment down below to let us know how you liked it. For more fruity recipes, check out these 50+ quick and easy fruit dessert ideas!

YIELDS:

8 – 10 SERVINGS

PREP TIME:

0 HOURS 15 MINS

TOTAL TIME:

0 HOURS 20 MINS

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE DRESSING

1/4 c. honey

1/4 c. freshly squeezed orange juice

Zest of 1 lemon

FOR THE SALAD

1 lb. strawberries, hulled and quartered

6 oz. blueberries

6 oz. raspberries

3 kiwis, peeled and sliced

1 orange, peeled and wedges cut in half

2 apples, peeled and chopped

1 mango, peeled and chopped

2 c. grapes

DIRECTIONS

In a small bowl whisk together honey, orange juice, and lemon zest. Add fruit to a large bowl and pour over dressing, tossing gently to combine. Chill until ready to serve.

Finally, you can use fruits such as applesauce to create a healthy yet delicious fruit salad dessert. To make this treat, combine yogurt, apple sauce, and grapes (with the peel on) in a bowl and refrigerate until ready to serve. To add a little more nutrition, you can include a layer of fresh blueberries or raspberries on the bottom of the bowl and then drizzle a generous layer of cranberry dressing over the top. This healthy dessert will have everyone eating fruit in no time!

If you enjoy fruit salads but would like to add more to the healthy aspect, then you may want to try incorporating canned fruits like pineapple, prunes, berries, or even watermelon into your fruit salad mixture. Just throw all of the fruits in with the greens and lettuce, and some chopped peaches or strawberries for a nice change of pace.

You can also add small pieces of carrot or celery and orange or grapefruit segments if you want a slightly sweet and sour flavor. Use spices like basil, cayenne pepper, or curry powder to spice things up, if you wish. Other items you may want to consider adding to your fruit salad are avocados, peas, and a dollop of sour cream or yogurt.